Page 316 - Vacation Country Travel Guide

the enduring legacy of the Tlingit people. It’s been passed down through the generations. there is a culture crisis. Language and culture
walls reverberate with stories passed down Alaska Waters’ Brooke Leslie says of the are woven together and are the bonds that
from generation to generation and the sound storytelling, “Hearing the Tlingit language keep the spirit of the clan community alive.”
of singing and drums still echo beneath its spoken is a very important experience.
massive cedar beams. Currently there is a language crisis with the Petroglyph Beach
Tlingit and when there is a language crisis State Historic Park
The Tribal house is open intermittently,
however the grounds of Shakes Island are
During low tide, images of whales and
always accessible for visitors to walk around. salmon begin to appear on the boulders
Totem poles that are in the process of being and bedrock like hidden gems waiting to be
restored can be found laying down behind discovered. Over 40 rocks contain carved
the Tribal house. One day they too will stand pictures and symbols believed to have been
upright as sentinels for this spiritual Tlingit
heartland. created hundreds of years ago by the Tlingit.
This is the largest collection of petroglyphs in
southeast Alaska and at one time was even
Alaska Waters is the only Wrangell company more sizable, however in the 1900s many rock
that offers island heritage tours which include carvings were lost due to the pilfering of native
Chief Shakes Tribal House, Petroglyph Beach
State Park and the Wrangell Museum. At the artifacts. The meanings of the petroglyphs
have since been lost, though some may
Tribal House visitors will have the unique have been carved to document an historical
opportunity to be greeted by a Tlingit house
presenter dressed in traditional regalia. Once
inside, decedents of Chief Shake will discuss
the remarkable carvings and ceremonial
architecture that make the Tribal House a
beautiful work of art. A highlight of the tour
is a Tlingit storyteller who will entertain the
audience with stories and legends that have

moment or special potlatch ceremony, as a
form of writing, or an artistic expression. While
no one can ascertain their true intent or even
how old they are, all people can enjoy this time
walking on the beach searching for buried
treasure in the sand.
Petroglyph Beach State Historic Park is
located one mile from the Wrangell ferry
terminal and is easily accessible. There is a
boardwalk to a deck overlooking the beach,
the Stikine River and Zimovia Strait. Several
petroglyph replicas are displayed on the deck
and visitors are allowed to make rubbings of
the replicas. Access to the beach is available
directly from the overlook. Instead of putting
the carved rocks in a museum, the Tlingit
elders decided to leave the carvings on the
beach where they have always been, covered
by waves and sand only to be rediscovered by
someone, thus continuing the history of the
Tlingit and honoring whatever purposes the
carvings served.

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